Withered Flowers
by innocent passerby
Summary: Ed and Al go to visit Russel and Fletcher after Al is restored. Fletcher's fallen ill and Russel seeks a cure via alchemy, so he asks assistance from Ed. Al and Russ rival for Ed's affections, and Ed doesn't even realize.
1. Reunion from the Past

As soon as Alphonse started to regain the memories of the four years inside the armor body, he developed an insatiable desire to travel. He wanted to see everyone and everything that he had known in the armor body. Edward had been happy to agree to take Al all around Amestris, and even parts of Ishbar. They were on a train from East City when Alphonse remembered a couple friendly faces that he hadn't seen in a while.

"Niisan," Alphonse said sweetly as he put on his best persuasively cute face, "Do you think that we can stop by Central?" Alphonse pouted slightly when Edward looked over at him to give an extra boost to his chances of a positive reply.

Edward raised one eyebrow when he looked up from his newspaper. Al wanted something, he could tell. He sighed a little and folded the newspaper carefully, setting it on his lap. "What are you planning to do in Central?"

Alphonse grinned sheepishly, "Well, I wanted to look something up." Al stood so he could take a seat at Ed's side instead of opposite him. "Please?"

Edward's eyes followed the manipulative switch of seats half-warily. He narrowed his eyebrows slightly, "And what is it that you're going to look up?"

Alphonse put his hands over one of Edward's, stroking the soft skin gently. "I just wanted to see if I could find an address." Al was worried that Edward was getting a little tired of traveling around so much when they could be sitting in one place. Ed had been working on an outline for a book and he was almost done with it. It wouldn't be long before Edward would want to start writing the actual book.

"So, you have someone else that you want to go visit then? Hmm, who is it?" Edward tossed the folded newspaper across the seat and into the space Alphonse had been taking up moments before. He turned his body so he could look at Alphonse as they talked.

"Yeah. I wanted to visit Fletcher and Russel. I know they've been moving around a lot lately, and I'd like to see how they're doing." Alphonse lifted Ed's hand a little, holding it in his own warm palms. He stroked Ed's fingers between his own, massaging between each finger.

Edward looked at their mingled hands, smiling a little inwardly. He shifted his eyes back up to Al and gave a half-hearted, but heavy sigh. "Yeah, I would like to warn them not to use our names anymore, considering I've been unhonerably discharged from the military."

Alphonse smiled and squeazed Edward's hand a little bit. He pulled it up to his mouth and kissed the top of his knuckles. "Thank you, Niisan!" He kissed Edward's hand over and over and then wrapped his arms around his neck to give him a hug, "You're always so good to me."

Edward blushed at the sudden displays of affection, unsure how to take them. In the end, he accepted both the continued kisses and the embrace with a smile. He even snaked one arm around Al to hug him back. "Naw, I'm mean sometimes. I promised we'd travel and visit everyone you wanted to, and I don't like broken promises."

Alphonse nodded, kissing Edward on the cheek before he got up to give Edward his space. He sat back down on his own seat, handing the disgarded newspaper back to his brother. Edward took the paper and opened it up to start reading it again, smiling a little more to himself.

---

It took over a week to finally find out the most recent Tringham residence, but they finally did. Once the location was discovered, the Elrics boarded the first train towards Xenotime; it seemed that the Tringham brothers had returned to their hometown after a period of travel. The train ride wasn't incredibly long, and it only took Edward and Alphonse a couple hours before they found the Tringham residence.

Edward was so busy staring at the map that when Alphonse stopped at the address, he continued walking for many meters. "It should be one of the houses on this street, keep an eye out for it..." He mumbled to Al, even though Al was already out of hearing range. "Aru, are you even listen-" Edward cut off when he looked up and saw that his brother wasn't at his side like he was before. "Aru? Aru, where'd he go..." Edward grumbled and turned to see Alphonse staring towards a house that Edward couldn't see from where he stood.

Edward sighed and folded the paper map, shoving it messily in his pants pocket. He walked over to Al's side, following Al's gaze at the house. It was a small home, and it looked a little unkempt to say the least. The grass in the yard was at least a half foot tall and it was covering most of the sidewalk. The paint was chipping, the window screens were torn, and the roof was in obvious disrepare. Edward cast his younger brother with a nervous side-glance and a lopsided half-smile, "Let's see if anyone's home?"

Alphonse didn't look happy, he was frowning and looked a little worried. He nodded his head and they walked single-file through the concrete valley between the two sides of offending vegetation. Edward was in the front, so he was the one that knocked on the floor. They could hear the sound of someone inside, then the door opened.

It was Russel, his hair was a little unorderly and he looked tired. He seemed surprised to see the Elrics standing there. He stepped back, opening the door farther. "Edward, it's been a while, who's your friend? Sorry about my appearance, come in." Russel smiled a little.

Edward grinned slightly, taking a step inside. "Oh, I guess you don't recognize him..." The grin changed to a smirk as he glanced back over at Al. It wasn't a surprise that Russel hadn't recognized Al, no one did at first.

"Hello, Russel. It has been a while," Alphonse smiled because he was used to it, then gave a slight bow before he followed his brother into the house.

As soon as Russel heard the voice, he immediately realized who it was. He stared in mild disbelief, then grinned. "You guys must have succeeded then?" There was a strange glint in Russel's eyes upon his realization; Ed hadn't noticed it, but Al did.

"Yep!" Edward grinned more and looked around the house. The lighting was dim and there was clutter everywhere. Edward had to step around piles of papers and books to get through the front hall.

"Russel, is Fletcher home?" Alphonse shut the door behind him, then approached the eldest Tringham, looking up at him.

"Yeah, he's home. He's in his room right now. He's been a little sick lately, so he hasn't been getting out much. Do you want to visit him? He'd be glad to see you." Russel smiled a little, but it was the kind of empty smile that Alphonse had seen on his own brother and the Colonel.

Alphonse nodded his head, following Russel as he walked passed Edward. He could hear his brother's footsteps behind him as they walked over towards Fletcher's bedroom. Russel's voice broke the awkward silence between the three of them. "He might be sleeping, if he is, I don't want to wake him up. You can stay in there with him if you want to, I was in there when you knocked." Russel stopped infront of a closed door, and he opened it slowly.

Edward and Alphonse followed him into the bedroom. Unlike the rest of the house, Fletcher's room was the pinnacle of cleanliness. Fletcher was laying in the bed on his back, and he was breathing in slow, struggling breaths that came in little wheezes. Russel walked over to the bedside first, kneeled down and reached one hand over to stroke Fletcher's hair out of his face. "He's been like this for a few months," Russel whispered to the Elrics who finally stepped into the middle of the room. "It's why we came back home, if you're wondering. He's always been frail, especially after we worked with the red water."

Alphonse stepped over next to Russel, resting a hand on his shoulder lightly. "Poor thing... you must be spending all your time taking care of him," Alphonse whispered back to him. "You should go get a little rest, I can take over for a little bit." Al offered a reassuring smile to him.

Russel looked up at Al and smiled back at him slightly. "Yeah, I guess I should. You always seemed like the nurturing type, and you might even be able to do a better job than me." Russel stood again, stepping away from the bed a little.

Edward watched from a distance, frowning a little to himself. It was hard to see a child suffer like that. He felt that the best thing he could do was to keep that distance, the fear of doing something to worsen the situation was an after effect of his years of guilt and angst.

Russel approached Edward, "Edward, there's something I want to talk to you about, okay?"

Edward looked up at the taller boy and nodded his head, turning to leave Fletcher's room. It was Russel that closed the door behind them. Edward knew what was going to come next, and he still couldn't think of any easy way of replying.

"Edward, since Al's normal now... that means you have the stone, right?"

Edward shifted in his position a little, frowning more. "No, we don't have the stone anymore. It was used up."

Edward stepped back when Russel came towards him, but he didn't move in time to evade Russel's hands on his shoulders. Edward looked up to see Russel's determined expression, and he could feel the tightness of Russel's grip. He could hear the desperation in Russel's voice. "Edward, please... don't you have any of it left?"

Edward knew what Russel was feeling, he'd felt the same way for four years. It was the anguish of guilt and the ferventness to reach retribution. Edward frowned and shook his head, looking down. He couldn't take looking at that expression any longer. "I'm sorry. It disappeared with the transmutation." The grip on Edward's shoulders let up slightly. When Edward looked up again, Russel was the one that was looking down.

"I see." Russel's voice was quiet, he removed his hands from Edward's shoulders and dropped down to his sides. After a moment, Russel had pulled himself together with that cocky smirk he was familiar with. "I'll just have to keep going from where I am in my research then."

"Russel," Edward started, thinking back to all the things that he and Al had undergone through their search for the Philosopher's Stone. He shook his head, he couldn't allow someone else to go through that. He couldn't allow for this madness to continue. "Sometimes alchemy isn't the answer. Why don't you just take him to the hospital...?"

"Don't you think I've already tried that?" Russel snapped, then gave his own head a shake. "The doctors can't do anything, the only thing left is alchemy." Russel walked past Edward, going to the living room with the stacks and stacks of notes and books.

Edward followed him slowly, swallowing down a lump that grew in his throat. "Maybe I can help then?" Edward crossed his arms as he stopped a couple feet infront of the kneeling Tringham.

Russel looked up at Edward, then shook his head again. "No, nevermind. This is my fault, and it's my duty to find a way to resolve it."

Edward's eyebrows knitted slightly, "How can something like this be your fault? You said yourself that he's always been weak..."

"He's not weak. He's just delicate," Russel snapped again, picking up a book and starting to flip through it.

"Well, you said that he has always been delicate then. So how is it your fault that he got sick?" Edward frowned inwardly... part of him wondering if he seemed like this... he shook that thought out of his head, there was no way he was going to let himself even consider that it wasn't his own fault for Al's condition. That would be belittling Alphonse, and blowing it off as being all okay.

"Because I pushed him. I made him come with me to research the red water, and I was the one that put him through prolonged exposure to it. I let him do alchemy, even though alchemy always damaged his body." Russel didn't even look up at Edward as he spoke, he just continued flipping through the book in his hand. He kept turning the pages, even after the script ended and the pages blank.

Edward shifted his weight again. He was at a loss as to how to deal with situations like this. Whenever someone tried to comfort him, he'd just push them away. How did someone comfort someone else anyway? He let out a heavy breath before he walked closer to Russel. He put his left hand on Russel's shoulder lightly as he knelt down next to him. "Let me see some of this research of yours..."

Russen glanced up slightly as Ed approached. In the edges of his eyes were stubborn tears that refused to fall. He smiled when Edward asked for his notes and he handed them over willingly.

---

In the next room, Alphonse was holding Fletcher's tiny hand in his own, stroking the bony knuckles softly. Al watched the peaceful sleeping face as it twisted into pain from some unseen torment. Al was worried, but didn't know what to do, so he squeezed Fletcher's hand a little bit.

The pain ebbed as soon as it came. Fletcher's grey-blue eyes opened to a dim bedroom and an unfamiliar face. He pulled his hand away, sitting up and runbbing his eyes with the fleshy part of his fist, then opened them up to look at the "stranger" again. "Who're you?" he asked, his voice was neither scared nor shocked, instead it was full of childish curiousity.

Alphonse laughed a little, sitting up straighter now that he wasn't leaning over to hold Fletcher's hand. "Let's just say that the last time we met, I looked very different."

"Hmm," the boy's face was full of concentration as he traced through his memories. After a moment, Fletcher's face lit up into a big grin. "Alphonse! I'm right, aren't I? You got your body back! I'm so happy!" Al's hand was immediately seized by Fletcher's.

"You got it! Niisan's in the other room talking to Russel right now. I'm sad to hear that you've gotten sick." Alphonse reached over with his free hand to put in on Fletcher's forehead to test the temperature. Al always took the opportunity to do this with Edward, whether he was ill or not. Things such as temperature fascinated his adjusting senses. Fletcher's skin under his palm was warm and slightly moist.

"Don't worry about me, Alphonse. I'll be better again in a few weeks, it's always been like this. I'm more worried about my Niisan. He keeps forgetting to eat 'cause he has to take care of me..." Fletcher's eyes drifted downward and he was frowning.

Alphonse smiled again, this time it was more of a sad smile. He pushed Fletcher's bangs out of his face and eyes, then cupped Fletcher's cheek and tilted his head up. "I'll worry about you all I want. You don't go worrying about your brother. Niisan and I will take care of him until you get better, okay?"

Fletcher smiled again and nodded his head enthusiastically. "Okay, it's a deal! It's equivalent trade, right?"

"Right!" Alphonse moved his hand back and smiled more. "Are you hungry, or do you want to rest some more?"

Fletcher weighted his options mentally, then made a decision. "I want to get something to eat. I want some soup, Niisan says soup's good for me and it;ll make me get better faster."

Alphonse stood up, nodding to Fletcher. "Then I'll go get you some soup, so your brother can finish talking to mine. Just call if you need anything at all, okay?"

"Okay." Fletcher watched as Al left, calling out "Leave the door open a little but, it's stuffy," before Al could shut the door.


	2. Feelings Unrequited

Edward flipped throught the passages in Russel's latest books, taking out a pen from his luggage to add in his own comments when he deamed necessary. Russel watched as the older boy worked.

Russel leaned his head in the palm of one hand, watching as Edward scribbled in his comments. At first, he had been watching and reading the comments. After many long minutes of that, his attention shifted over to the boy doing the scribbling. He watched as Edward's eyebrows furrowed, leaving little wrinkles in the sides of his eyes as he concentated extra-hard on particularly complex calculations.

It was almost an hour and one and a half books into the research revisions when Russel was starting to feel fidgety. He broke the silence as he reached a hand to casually push one side of Edward's long bangs behind his ear, "Why are you always hiding your face with your hair? You've got a nice face. You should flaunt it."

Russel was rewarded by the pink tint on Edward's face and the embarrassed glare that followed. Russel chuckled a little when Ed rolled his eyes and went back to the notes. Edward didn't move his hair back to the normal position though. Russel took this as a good sign and proceeded to run his fingers lightly over the angles of Edward's face.

"What do you think you're doing?" Edward glared a little bit at the younger, yet tragically taller, boy.

"I'm just admiring," Russel responded with a grin.

"Well, admire with your eyes, not your hands," Edward warned, with his cheeks redening despite his efforts not to blush. "You're distracting me while I'm trying to do you a favor."

"Can't I admire with something else?" Russel put two fingers on the top of his notebook, then pushing it down and closing it along the way. Russel grinned more at the surprised look on Edward's face. His eyes were wider than normal, and one of his eyebrows was twitching ever so slightly. Ed's mouth was opened slightly with either unspoken protest or confusion. Either way, it was irresistable. Russel grinned and leaned in for a kiss, but was halted when Edward suddenly turned his head downward as if looking at the opened pages of notes with intense interest. The action forced Russel to rethink his strategy, and he moved back. Russel didn't easily admit defeat, so he viewed this as part of the game.

---

Alphonse peered into the quiet livingroom, it was dark and held an uncomfortable air. He could make out the forms of his brother and the other boy hunched close to one another, both of their interests held captive by the book that the older held open. Alphonse stepped into the room silently. The only sound was Edward leafing through a couple of pages and the scratching sound of pen against paper.

Upon further inspection of the taller boy, Alphonse noticed a look in his eyes when he would look up to glance at Edward. The look made Alphonse feel uneasy. What was that look anyway? Admiration? No, admiration wouldn't have made him feel this tense... Desire? Yes, desire. The look was something more than professional praise or friendly admiration, it was a desire. Alphonse couldn't tell if the desire was sexual, or induced by the jealousy of skill, but Al did know that he didn't like it.

Alphonse cleared his throat and took a couple more steps into the livingroom. "Niisan, I never could figure out why you got so many headaches all the time, but now I know. It's from always trying to read in the dark!" Alphonse searched the wall for a light switch.

Edward looked up from the book with a mild start, then grinned a little sheepishly. "I didn't realize it was so dark in here. I don't read like this all the time, either," Edward defended himself stubbornly.

"Yes you do, I usually just turn on the light without mentioning it. Besides, you usually--"

"It's over near the kitchen," Russel interrupted, leaning back in his seat and propping his arm up behind Edward.

Alphonse could feel the slight tug of his eyebrow twitching, but forced himself to take a deep breath in to calm down and then he told himself that it was going to be okay. "Thanks," Al forced himself to sound cheerful as he crossed the messy living room to switch on the lights. All three boys had to flinch because of the onslaught of the lights, but no one mentioned it.

"Well, you usually lose track of time when you're reading," Alphonse continued, "and since you like to just open the window for light, it must get dark too gradually for you to notice."

Edward snorted in mock offense by the statement, then beconed Al to come closer with a simple hand gesture. "Want to come look at some of this research that Russel's been working on? It'll take weeks for me to do it alone."

"I will in a little while, Niisan," Alphonse walked over to Edward anyway as he explained, "Fletcher just woke up and he wants me to cook some soup for him." Alphonse swung his arm around Edward's shoulder, loosely in a half-hug, then maintained that position. "Is there anything that either of you want to eat? We can all have dinner together."

Alphonse noticed the slight scowl on Russel's face when he had approached his older brother, then watched as it changed to a jealous pout as he spoke of Fletcher.

"Fletcher never wants soup. Don't worry about preparing it, I'll take care of it..." Russel was getting up, but Al stopped him with one hand.

"Nope, you sit down. We've made a deal that Fletcher will try to get better and not waste energy worrying over you on the promise that Niisan and I can take care of you and make sure you don't kill or starve yourself trying to take care of him.

Al saw the color rise onto Russel's face and he grinned a little. He felt Edward's arm snake around his waist after many moments of confused hesitation on Edward's part. "Well, since you're offering. I wouldn't mind some chicken. I haven't had a decently cooked chicken since we left Rizenbul."

Al nodded to Edward, then looked over at Russel again. "Do you have any chicken, or should one of us go to the store real fast?"

Russel had regained his cocky composure by the time Al asked him, so he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders and then leaned back against the front of the unutilized couch. "We should have some chicken, you can go check the kitchen if you want."

Alphonse gave Edward another possessive squeeze before moving back. "I'll go check that now. Study nicely, you two." Alphonse gave a slight wave and left the older boys in the living room with the massive amount of books.

---

Russel watched Al's back as he left, then leaned over towards Edward, "Is he always that clingy?"

Edward raised an eyebrow at the inquisition, then shrugged both shoulders. "Sometimes, more so when we were kids. I don't mind. I guess it's kind of nice." Edward blushed slightly as he spoke, so Russel sensed there was a deeper meaning to what Edward had said, but he didn't really care to know how much deeper at that time, so he left the answer open.

Edward returned his attention to the book at hand, flipping through the remaining pages to estimate how much further he had to go in that particular volume. "Hmm, might get to start the next book before dinner's done. Did you want to look for it now so I don't have to wait?"

Russel stood up and approached a stack of books, opening one, checking the date, then setting it back down in a new stack. Russel continued this cycle until he found the book he was looking for, then returned to Edward's side. Russel set the book down infront of the braided boy and took a seat on the couch.

"Do you really think he should help you look through these?" Russel leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling. He watched as a spider moved on it's web in the corner.

"What? You mean Al?" Edward looked behind him at Russel, then looked back to the book after realizing Russel wasn't paying him the courtesy of looking back. "I'm sure, why do you ask?"

"Well... he's younger than you, isn't he? He doesn't have as much experience... I know this is going to sound wrong, but he lost a lot more because of what you guys tried--"

"Don't even finish," Edward interrupted warningly. "He's just as competent, if nor more-so, than I am! Don't even think about doubting him!" Edward growled a little, closing the book and marking it with his finger.

"Hey, don't take it the wrong way! I am just making sure my notes are in good hands here," Russel defended himself with a mildly annoyed tone.

"I guarantee that they'll be in good hands," Edward stated shortly, then opened the book to read more.

"If you need to know, we started studying alchemy at the same time. We've been through almost everything together. We've both spent hours every single day for many years studying alchemy. What more do you need?" Edward didn't feel there was any need to further discussion, so he started to really read again.

"You're obviously the more tallented brother," Russel continued, hoping to provoke more of an arguement.

"Tallent is one thing, competence is another. I may have a knack, but when it comes to theories and principles, Al's got me flat on my back." Edward sighed loudly, flipping past a page in the book.

"I bet that's not the only place he has you flat on your back," Russel mumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Ed glanced back, he couldn't hear the phrase, but he could tell by the hushed tone that it was bad.

"Okay, fine. He can look it over too," Russel gave a defeated sigh and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You won't be sorry." Edward stated and then started reading yet again, hoping that this time there would be silence. He was granted that.


	3. Incalescence

In the kitchen, Alphonse was lucky to find a find a frozen chicken and a can of chicken noodle soup for Fletcher. After a deeper search, Alphonse found some spices that he could use with the chicken. Once Al had a meal plan, he put a pot of water on the stove to heat some water to hasten the thawing process. Al thought it was only proper to give Fletcher the choice of eating soon or later, so he left the water to boil and went to the other room.

Edward was deep into concentration when Alphonse looked over at him. Russel, on the other hand, looked up at him the moment he set foot into the living room. Alphonse gave a slight smile over in Russel's direction, but did not receive one in return. Al could have sworn Russel's scowl worsened ever-so-slightly as he was turning around. Al told himself that he was just imagining things, but part of him still believed in his initial reaction.

Alphonse hurried into the bedroom to find Fletcher sitting up on his bed, staring out at what he could see through the slight spaces between the blades of the window blinds. The look on Fletcher's face surprised Al, because he had never seen Fletcher so thoughtful before. The boy seemed almost wistful, and Al could see the corners of his eyes glisten a little more than they should.

Alphonse made his entrance slow and stepped over to the edge of the bed. Al used a hushed voice so he didn't startle the younger boy. "Fletcher, is there something on your mind?"

Fletcher jumped a little, then looked over to see the concern on Al's face. Al's presence seemed to shatter the restraints that Fletcher had on himself and the smaller boy's broke into quiet sobs. Fletcher sniffed loudly and put his hands over his face, trying to wipe away as many of the tears as he could.

Alphonse slowly reached over to rest one hand on the younger boy's back, and he used that hand to guide Gletcher into a gently embrace. "Aa, you can talk about it when you're ready, Fletcher..."

Fletcher fell into Al's arms and burried his face against Al's chest. Fletcher continued to sob for several minutes before he'd calmed enough to look up at the boy hugging him. " 'm sorry," Fletcher choked out and snorted loudly again. " 'was just thinkin' 'bout Niisan, 'n I don' wan' 'im to worry 'bout me 'nymore. 'just wan' it to be the way it used to be." Fletcher used Al's shirt to wipe his tears, the looked up at Al guiltfully, " 'm sorry..."

Al stroked Fletcher's hair, patiently listening to every word that the boy had to say. he smiled kindly, and even gave a little chuckle when Fletcher used his shirt as a tissue. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that I was useful." Al sat down on the edge of the bed, still hugging Fletcher as he did. "I'm sure Russel will be normal will be normal again once you're better, don't you think so too?"

Fletcher nodded his response, but Al could see more tears swelling up in the child's eyes. Al knew that he must have said something wrong, so he hugged Fletcher a little tighter, leaning his head down against Fletcher's shoulder. The situation vaguely reminded Al of the tearful reunion that Edward and he shared. Well, with less kissing all over eachother's faces.

Fletcher burrowed into the embrace and cried fresh tears on Al's shirt. Fletcher kept nodding his head, taking momentary breaks in order to think, which were always ended in more nods and more hot tears on Al's torso.

Al cupped one hand on the back of Fletcher's head and carressed it while twining his fingers through the child's satin hair. Al spread his fingers enough to comb through Fletcher's hair. "Let it all out, Fletcher. I'll stay here with you until you want me to go. I can get your brother for you if that's what you want."

Fletcher nodded to all that Al spoke, but he looked up suddenly when Al mentioned his brother. Fletcher had a protesting face and determiningly shook his head. "Don' tell Niisan, he'll just get sad..."

Al nodded his head solemnly upon Fletcher's request. "Alright, I won't tell him, but if you want to talk about it, then you can come to me, okay?" Al attempted a reassuring smile and moved the hair off of Fletcher's wettened face.

"Okay, I'll talk to you about it later." Fletcher moved back away from Al's warmth to finish drying off his tears. Fletcher smiled a little bit, "Thanks. Don't be worried about me. I just get sad when I'm sick." Fletcher looked tired, and he sounded that way too. Fletcher's entire body seemed to be radiating heat.

"You lay back down. I haven't made your soup yet. I was coming in here to ask if you want it right now, or if you want to eat it all when dinner's ready for everyone else?" Alphonse put his hands on Fletcher's shoulders and led the boy to lay back down. Al noticed that Fletcher's temperature must have risen during the time that Al was in the other room.

"I want to eat dinner with everyone..." Fletcher's voice was slurred slightly, which worried Al. Fletcher closed his eyes when he was on his back, and he was already starting to doze when he'd only been laying for about half a minute.

Alphonse stroked back Fletcher's hair one more time, then moved back. Al watched as Fletcher gave up what must have been a struggle to stay awake. Fletcher's chest rose and fell with the gentle, steady rhythm of sleep.

Alphonse turned and went back through the living room. He only gave Russel and Edward a slight glance as he walked by. Edward was still focused and Russel was leaning awfully close to Edward to peer over Ed's shoulder. Al and Russel's eyes met briefly, but Al broke the gaze and re-entered the kitchen.

---

Edward's attention snapped at the high-pitched sound of screaming in the next room, which was followed by the clitter-clatter sound of metal, and finally a liquid splash. Edward's eyes went large and he stood fast. Ed abandoned the research behind him with a toss and rushed to the other room.

"Aru!" Edward called as he opened the door. Al had a rag in his hands and was kneeling to the floor, desperately trying to clean up the spilled water on the floor all around him. "What are you doing?" Ed demanded as he approached his hissing sibling.

"I went to check on Fletcher and when I came back, the pot was boiling over..." Edward pushed Al back and snatched the towel away with his left hand, then growled and immediately switched to his right.

"Don't be such a dumb ass, Aru!" Edward fussed and started to mop up the water himself. "You're going to burn yourself doing this!" Edward tossed the rag and grabbed Al, a little bit too roughly he realized when he heard the yelp and wince that Al made.

Al hung his head, pouting as Edward yelled at him. Al could tell that he was feeling emotional from his encounter with Fletcher earlier, because he felt like he was about to cry. Al looked up slowly after his wrists were seized so viciously, when his eyes rose, he saw his brother's angry face.

When Edward saw the pitiful expression worn by his little brother, his own expression softened. Ed loosened his hold on Al's wrists. "Aru," Edward sighed, "Sorry, I overreacted, now tell me what happened." Ed didn't hear the footsteps that approached behind him.

Edward looked at Al's hands, frowning when he noticed how red they looked. He lifted Al's hands up and kissed each palm in a gentle apology.

"I only left the water to boil when I went. When I came back, it was overflowing! The chicken was in the pot, and I know I didn't put it there before I left... I panicked, so I grabbed the handle of the pot, but it was too hot to hold onto for long, and I dropped it before I could get to the sink, because I couldn't hold on..."

"Why'd you leave the chicken in the pot when you left the room?" Edward stood, guiding Al to do the same. Ed left the mess on the floor in order to bring Al to the sink. Ed twisted the ridged cylinder that had the letter "C" etched onto it in a curled script. Cool water came out of the nozzle in a steady stream. Edward led Al's hands into the glacial water.

"I told you! I only left the water," Al whined, then sighed in relief as his scalded hands were thoroughly drenched in water. "I didn't put the chicken in at all, it was in there when I came back."

"Who'd come in here just to sabotage your meal? Look, I don't care about the chicken, okay? I just don't want you going around and damaging yourself like this anymore." Edward turned up the water once Al was used to the pressure, then dug around inside of the drawers until he found where Russel kept the washing towels. He removed one of the rags and walked to the freezer to get a handful of ice to fill it with.

"I don't know, maybe it was Russel," Al sighed a little as he took a guess. "I'm not trying to lie to you about the chicken, and I'm a little peeved that you think that I would." Alphonse could feel his face heat up with a blush as he realized what Edward was getting the rag for. Al wanted to explain that things weren't as bad as Ed was making them out to be, but he was enjoying the extra attention, so he let Edward baby him.

Edward took one of Al's hands out from under the running water and pressed the make-shift icepack onto the reddened, puffy flesh of Al's palm. "Why do you think he'd do that? He didn't even get up since you went to the kitchen."

Alphonse removed his other hand from under the faucet and winced as he turned the dial to switch the water off. "I don't know, I don't know if he still likes me. He was giving me a weird look earlier," Al explained. Al's hand was taken by Ed's and joined with his other. Edward looked up at him with a slight glare.

"Aru, don't be silly. You're just imagining things. He's been stressed out lately, so he's probably just in a bad mood." Edward let his hands linger on Al's as he turned around and went back to clean the cooling water from the floor. Ed let the rag soak up water and he stood to wring it out in the sink, then he tossed the rag in the sink. "Ah, hell. It's easier this way," he announced as he slapped his hands together and dropped to his knees, pressing his hands palm-down onto the wet tile. Blue waves of energy emitted from his hands and then across the floor and the water vaporized into the air, then relocated in the pot. Once Edward was done, he dusted his hands off and grinned up at his younger brother.

"Whatever you say, Niisan, but I know that there's no way I out that chicken in the boiling pot," Alphonse moved his hands around so they wouldn't get too cold from the ice and the damp spots his wet hands had left on the towel.

"But, who could have--"

"It was me," Russel stepped the rest of the way into the kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest. "Look, Al, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be in Fletcher's room for so long, so I went to the kitchen to see if there was anything that needed to be done. I saw the water was boiling, so I figured you were thawing the chicken, so I put the chicken in the pot for you. I went back to see how Ed was doing, and I guess I lost track of time when I was witnessing some of the changes he was making."

Edward stared at the newly entered Russel in mild disbelief. "Eh? When did you get up?" Edward's cheeks were tinted salmon once more.

"Did you even notice your brother walk across the room?" Russel smirked a little bit as the salmon-pink became more briliant. Edward didn't say anything, so Russel took the opportunity to continue, "I guess we can take that as a negative."

Russel walked past the brothers and bent down to pick up the abandoned chicken, then made a face. "I don't suspect that we will be eating this," Russel stated as he held the chicken up for the others to see. "The plastic mustn't have been all that heat resistant," it was true, the plastic had started melting onto the skin of the chicken.

Edward and Alphonse made faces at the mangled meat. "Well, what else is there that we can eat? I'm getting a little hungry. Are there any delivery places here? They had some in Central, but we were hardly ever at home so we never used them," Edward leaned against the countertop, he glanced from one boy to the other.

"There's this one that I know of, I use it when I forget to stop at the grocery," Russel rubbed his chin as he recalled. "It's pretty good, I'll go order a family meal."

Edward nodded and turned his attention back to Al. "Hey, let me see your hands," he ordered with his usual s lack of /s charm. Edward scowled when he saw that Al's hands were getting more puffy and not less. "Hey, Russ," Ed used a shortened form of Russel's name to give Russel the same amount of respect that he had been given during the begining of the conversation, it went unnoticed. "Do you have any bandages or anything? Al burned his hands up."

"It's not that bad, Niisan," Alphonse jumped in before Russel had the chance to answer. "You're making too big of a deal out of it, my hands are just a little tender."

"Have you looked at them?" Edward glared a little at Al as he pushed himself up from his reclining position. Edward approached Al and lifted his hand up closer to Al's face and waved it a little. "Look how puffy they're getting! That's not just a little tender!"

"They'll be fine in the morning!" Al pulled his hand back and looked at it himself. Al frowned slightly, his hands did look a little worse than he had thought.

Russel's foot was tapping on the floor. It seemed to Russel that every time he tried to open his mouth, one or the other Elric would take over the silence for himself. "To answer your question," Russel began, "We do have some bandages. They're in the bathroom."

Edward grinned a little at Russel and leaned on the counter again. "Ah, well, you know where they are better than I can find them."

Russel glared a little, then sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Fine, I'll go get them for you, but you better thank me when you get back." Russel shook his head as he made his exit.

Edward tilted his head back and stretched his back over the counter a little bit. "You need to be more careful, Aru." Edward looked over at Al, still in his stretched position. Ed's hair was falling behind his face instead of over it, and it was resting half on the counter-top. Edward's grin seemed to look more sincere and less cocky in that position. Edward looked a little more feminine too, a little pretty. If only Edward would look as docile as this when he tried to persuade people, then he would probably have more luck accomplishing it.

Alphonse smiled and nodded once, "Alright, I promise that I'll try to be more careful." Al leaned over Edward, looking down at him. Edward finished stretching his back, then attempted to lay down half-way on the counter with a lazy sigh. Al smiled more, his brother sure was cute sometimes. Al leaned down and kissed Edward on the nose, making that ever-so-adorable pink tint come back again. Al giggled a little and moved back.

"Aru," Edward complained and stood up straight. Edward stretched his arms over his head with a heavy sigh. "Mm, I forgot how achy I always got when I read so much."

"It's because you don't take breaks, Niisan." Alphonse walked over to the dining part of the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Al waited for Edward to come sit next to him, then let his own hands rest on top of the table.

"But I can get more done when I don't take breaks," Edward pouted a little as he sat down in the stiff, wooden chair.

"Not necessarily, Niisan. You get tired faster, and when you're tired, you work in a slower pace." Alphonse leaned forward over the table and took another peek at one of his hands. The skin was still pink, except for his fingertips that turned slightly blue because of the cold ice-pack. Al's hand was also still swollen and it looked like the palms were much too large for the backs of his hands.

Edward leaned over a little and poked Al in the arm with a steel finger. "Looks like I will be doing the research alone after all."

Alphonse looked over when poked. "I'll be able to help, I'll just go in a slower pace than I would usually--"

"So you admit that you're hurting pretty bad then!" Edward grinned in a slightly triumphant manner.

"Yes, my hands do hurt a lot, but it's nothing that I can't live with." Alphonse scooted his chair a little closer to Edward's and leaned against his older brother lazily.

Edward shifted a little, but he didn't complain like he normally did. Edward pushed Al back and lifted his arm so he could give Al a hug as Al rested on him. Ed was feeling a little affectionate after thinking about Russel, Fletcher, and Fletcher's illness. Ed didn't know what he would have done if he couldn't save Al, and that's why he accepted the task of helping Russel find a cure through alchemy.


	4. Collusive Contrivance

Russel had been just as surprised as Edward when they had heard the ruckus in the kitchen, but he hadn't been as fast to get to his feet. Russel was also a little surprised to see how Edward went from his statuesque reading to a fit of near-panic in order to rush to the other room. Russel wondered a little to himself whether Edward realized how much he wore his emotions on his sleeve. In the short time that Russel had been around Edward, Russel had seen an assortment of emotions, most (but not all) of which ranged between anger and angst.

Russel glanced down at his deserted notes lying open, page-side down on the couch cushion next to him. Russel sighed and left the book the way it was as he stood and walked, in a much calmer pace than Edward had, to the kitchen. Russel came in to see an endearing moment between the Elrics and decided to refrain from saying anything to disturb them. Instead, Russel opted to watch and see what they would talk about if they didn't notice that he was around.

Russel listened as Al explained the situation, he felt slightly guilty about his futile attempts to help out. Russel honestly didn't realize that Al would take so long. Russel figured it would have been a good way to make silent ammends with the youngest Elric, but he realized that had been mistaken when Al told Edward about how he had been glaring at him.

Russel grew tired of hearing Edward defend him while Al accused him, so he cleared his throat and that was when he explained his side of what had happened. It seemed to Russel that neither of the Elrics noticed the damage done to the meat itself, so he made a point out of it.

Edward had asked Russel about delivery restaurants, one came to his mind as soon as the question was done. Russel had spent almost every moment he was awake doing research for about a month, and he didnt have time to make meals unless they were special requests from Fletcher himself, so he usually called in his meals to come to him. Russel had even lost his job at the library because of his constant absence. It was a good thing that Nash Tringham had been such a high-ranking alchemist with his discoveries of the red water, because Russel had been using their father's savings to keep him and his brother housed and fed.

Before Russel could exit the kitchen, his attention was caught by another question from the one he so endearingly thought of as the 'Pint-Sized Alchemist', even though Edward had grown a significant five or six inches since they had last seen eachother. Russel hadn't noticed Al's burned hands until Edward pointed them out, he winced inwardly at the painful looking palms and fingers. Even though Russel explained where Edward could find bandages, he was swingled into getting them for Al himself.

---

Russel walked out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom. Russel glanced at Fletcher's closed bedroom door because it was on the way, then decided to stop and have a peek in before going to get the bandages for Al. Russel opened up the bedroom door as quietly as he could, because he didn't want to disturb Fletcher's sleep.

Russel walked into the room and approached Fletcher's bed. Russel bent down over the bed so he could give Fletcher a kiss on the forehead, then he stood up and smiled a little at the sleeping boy.

"You sleep now, Fletcher. We've got Ed and Al here to help us find our miracle. Just hold on a little longer," Russel spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. Russel touched Fletcher's cheek and neck, then sighed a little.

Russel didn't want to stay in Fletcher's room for very long, he was worried he would wake the boy during the begining of such a peaceful sleep, so he left the room as quietly as he entered.

While Russel was in the bathroom, he obtained the bandages that he was sent for, but that wasn't the only thing that he picked up. Russel felt that Fletcher's fever had come back, so he took a bottle of aspirin and slipped it into his pocket so he wouldn't forget to give it to him after dinner.

Russel decided to return to the kitchen before calling in dinner, and he figured that it was what Edward had expected when he asked for the bandages before letting him call in the food in the first place.

Russel came into the kitchen to see a sweet moment between Ed and Al that just encouraged his suspicions of a more-than-brotherly relationship between the Elrics. Russel saw Al leaning over onto Edward, his head resting on Edward's chest, and Edward's arm wrapped protectively over Al's shoulders. Edward's head was resting, tilted, over Al's and the lack of movement looked like they were starting to doze.

Russel walked over to the kitchen table and put the bandages down infront of the Elrics, and he made sure to make enough noise so that it would disturb them if they had been really dozing. He saw Al jump, but Edward must have been awake because he didn't react other than looking over at him with that lop-sided grin of his.

"There's your bandages, are you happy now?" Russel smirked a little, and watched as Al turned to look up at him too. Russel couldn't help but notice how strangely adorable it looked to see Al peering up at him like that. Russel hadn't really taken the time to notice Al when they came in, because the room was very dim and he was in one of his moods where he didn't really take notice in anything.

Al looked a lot like Edward, except that his eyes and chin were a little more rounded instead of angled like Edward's. Al's hair was more of a honey than Ed's golden, and his eyes were a mysterious mixture of so many colors; gold, bronze, green, and grey. Edward was obviously the more masculine in facial features, but Al was his counterpart and shared the same amount of good looks.

Russel shook his head slightly, then reached into his pocket and presented the aspirin. "Here, in case it hurts a lot, take a couple of these and it will make it hurt less." Russel put the aspirin on the table next to the bandage and turned around to leave.

"Thank you, Russel," Al sat up straighter and turned in his chair to look over with much curiosity. "Niisan forgot to thank you, and you said that you should be thanked," Al explained, he hadn't really expected Edward to do the polite thing in the first place.

"Don't worry about it, Al," Russel smirked at Edward a little, he didn't expect to be thanked either. "Do what your brother says and take care of yourself, we don't need to have two little brothers out of commission in one house."

Al blushed a little bit and nodded his head, "I was planning on it."

"Okay, fine. Thanks, Russ," Edward grinned a little and grabbed the first bandage to start unraveling it from its tight coil. Edward grabbed Al's wrists again, looking them over before he started to wrap them.

Russel gave Edward a brief nod and then walked out of the kitchen as he announced, "I'm calling in dinner, see you in the living room when you decide to join me.

Russel made a brief stop at the telephone to order a family sized meal, he decided to go with the bar-b-que meal that was the daily special. Russel had to explain to the phone clerk that they had company over and that's why he was ordering more food than usual. Russel was only mildly surprised that he called so frequently that the clerks recognized him.

Russel sighed and rubbed the back of his head after hanging up the phone, while he was walking towards the couch. Russel picked up his abandoned book of notes and closed it, leaving a ribbon for a bookmark. Russel looked over in the direction of Fletcher's bedroom, wondering if Fletcher and he would share the same kind of relationship as Ed and Al did when Fletcher was cured of this disease. The thought made Russel smile a little bit to himself. It wouldn't be long before Fletcher would be well.

---

Edward wanted to make sure that there were no places that were burned badly enough to open the pores in Al's hands. Edward was glad that there was no opened blisters yet, but he did see where the skin would break if Al grabbed something too hard. Edward sighed and started to wrap Al's left hand first.

Al was a little bit surprised at how gentle automail could feel against his hands when Edward was trying to be careful. Al wasn't used to Edward being so delicate with anything, and it made him smile a little in an almost dreamy kind of way. Al watched as Edward made sure to wrap all of his hands to leave no part vulnerable to everyday handling. Once Al's left hand was thoroughly wrapped, Al offered his right hand. Sure, it would inconvenience Al to have his hands covered in bandages, but it would inconvenience him if they weren't too.

"Did you notice that Russel was acting a little... weird?" Al broke the silence, holding his newly bandaged hand up to inspect it more closely.

"Eh? I didn't notice anything... what did you notice?" Edward didn't look up at Al, but it didn't make a difference because Al's attention was on the bandaging.

"Well, he was just acting different than he was earlier today. The way he looked at me, it was like he had an epiphany of some sort. I don't know, after that, he just seemed to look at me more... nicely," Al explained and lowered his hand and started to watch Edward again.

Edward glanced up from his work and gave Al an amused look, "I told you that you were just imagining things." When Edward finished with this hand, he continued to hold onto it idly.

"Whatever you say, Niisan," Al sighed and stood up in his chair. "Should we go into the living room?"

"You go ahead, I'm going to make that soup you promised Fletcher." Edward grabbed the icepack and held it up. "Do you need this anymore?"

Al smiled a little and took the icepack from his brother's hand. "Are you sure you don't need me in here to help you out?"

Edward glared a little and stood up, "Of course I don't need help. It's just a can of soup, I think I can manage cooking it."

Al laughed and Edward blushed. Al held the ice pack between his hands, smiling still. "Okay, Niisan. Just don't try to improve the recipe, Fletcher probably needs bland food, so just leave it as it is."

Edward glared a little more and sighed, "I said I can manage. Now, go out there and entertain our host." Edward shooed Al a little and went to the pantry to find the soup.

Al was a little reluctant to let Edward take care of preparing the sick boy's meal; after all, he wanted Fletcher to get better, not worse. Al figured that he could take a taste of the soup before Edward served it.

Al left Edward and the aspirin in the kitchen. Al didn't think it would be a good idea to take the medicine without eating first anyway.

---

Russel looked up when he heard someone come in from the kitchen. He raised one eyebrow when Al came into the living room without his brother in tow.

"Niisan's making Fletcher's soup, he'll be in here when it's done," Al walked over to the couch and took the seat where his brother had been sitting before.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave him in there alone? Am I going to go in there to find the ruins of a battleground or something?" Russel smirked a little, he could hear the unease when Al was explaining why Edward was no where to be seen.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine... just as long as he doesn't make the soup like he would want to eat it. I don't think Fletcher needs cayenne or an abundance of salt in his soup." Al reached over to pick up one of Russel's books that hadn't been looked through yet. Al had a little trouble because of the pain and bandages to open it up to the first page.

"Well, one of us needs to make sure he didn't add anything like that before we give it to Fletcher," Russel took the book from the youngest Elric and opened it up to the right page. Russel scooted over a little, handing Al the book, "Just tell me when you need to flip to the next page."

"I've already accepted that fate," Al looked up at Russel and blushed a little bit at the sudden friendliness coming from the one he had been rivalling less than half and hour before. Al looked back down at the book and started to look over the first page, he was a little timid to say "Next page, please," but it got easier as the pages went by. It was even harder for Al to explain errors that Russel had overlooked, but since Russel seemed to be more open to constructive criticism than his own brother, Al became more comfortable with it.

---

Edward heated the soup, once it was warm he put on the lid to the pot then he left the pot on a cool burner and walked back into the living room to join the other boys. Edward didn't expect to see his precious little brother and Russel nearly snuggling together on the couch. Maybe Al was right, Russel had been acting weird.

"Am I interrupting something?" Edward walked into the living room, if he was interrupting then it was all the better to break it up sooner than later.

Al looked up at Edward and smiled at him, "Ah, done with the soup, Niisan? Russel was just helping me read through his book, because I was having trouble flipping through the pages."

Edward's brows knitted very slightly as he nodded his head and he went to pick up the book he was in the middle of looking through before. "I see, well I guess we should get through as much as we can before dinner," Edward walked over to the chair on the other side of the room, even though there was plenty of room for three on the couch.

Russel and Al exchanged glances, Russel couldn't help but grin and Al smiled back a little awkwardly. Russel leaned over towards Al a little closer, whispering into Al's ear softly, "I think he's jealous."

Al grinned a little and nodded his head, then whispered back, "I noticed too. I wonder who he's jealous of..."

"Maybe both of us," Russel's grin just expanded. "Do you want to have a little fun?" Russel glanced over at Edward, he could tell that Ed had been spying on him because he was looking very grumpy as he read through the notes.

Al blushed at Russel's proposal and looked up at him, he wasn't really sure what he should expect to be the meaning of having fun. "What do you mean by 'have fun'?"

Russel smirked and kissed Al on the cheek before explaining into his ear, "I just mean to play like we have something going on. Think about how cute he'd be when he overreacts."

Al blushed more, then his grin returned. "You've got a deal."


	5. Eerie Encounter

The time waiting for the delivered food seemed to fly by for everyone except Edward. For some reason, Edward couldn't stay focused on the task at hand. After all, it was one thing to act like a horny pervert to Edward, but it was another thing to act that way towards his innocent and vulnerable little brother.

Edward couldn't help himself; he had to look up after reading every line to make sure that Russel was keeping his hands to himself. The events from earlier that day were still fresh in Edward's mind. How could Ed forget such a vulgar display of sexual harrassment. Edward felt his face heat up in rage at the memories; well, it wasn't entirely from rage, but Ed would never admit that he'd been flattered by the blatant flirtation. Either way, Ed didn't want Russel's attentions to shift to Al, and the reverse was just as bad.

The sound of the door did not stir Ed from his confused and enraged thoughts, but the smell of the bar-b-que did. Edward closed the book in his hands, even though he had only gone through an unproductive two pages since he'd sat down.

Edward followed Russel into the kitchen to find Al trying to stir a heating pot of soup. Edward rushed over to Al with a growl. "What do you think you're doing? Don't even think that I'm going to let you cook after what you did earlier!" Edward was aware that his voice was a little colder than he would have normally used/ Edward meant to sound as though he were teasing Al, but he knew that he must have sounded nothing short of infuriated by the sight of the tensing in Al's shoulders and how Russel started making as little noise as possible.

Edward sighed and grabbed Al's hand a lot softer than his voice had been and pried the stirring spoon from it slowly. Edward was standing behind Al and he had to lean to one side in order to see the pot.

Al started to pull away from his position at the stove and from Edward. "Sorry," Al said in a hurt tone of voice as he stepped away.

Edward's hand was quicker than Al and it was a good thing Ed had aimed for Al's wrist, because his grip was firm. Edward looked up at Al with a steady stare, "You know what I meant, I was just playing around. I'm not mad at you, so you don't have to go pout. My back hurts, that's all." Edward let go of Al's wist and took over the cooking position completely.

"I just didn't want everyone's food to get cold while the soup was being rehearted," Al explained as he walked over to the kitchen table. Al was starting to feel mildly useless, but he tried to remain optimistic.

"I'd rather have cold food than have you hurt needlessly," Edward turned off the heat when he saw the little air pockets rise up in a slow boil. Ed poured the soup into a bowl and left the rest on the burner.

"Hey, Ed, you take that and one of these," Russel made a gesture at the served plates of food," and Al, you go wake up Fletcher."

Al was glad to hear the assignment and he walked out of the kitchen ahead of the other boys without a word.

"Hey, is there something wrong with you?" Russel picked up one of the plates for Ed to take. Russel was a little taken aback from Ed's behavior, but he knew it was tied into some story Ed was making up in his head about why Russel was suddenly so friendly with Al.

Edward snorted at the question, "I told you already. My back hurts." Edward took the plate and started towards the door.

"Well, you don't need to take it out on Al. Did you see the look on his face when he turned around? He looked like he was going to cry," Russel knew it was a little bit much for him to tell Edward that, especially when he took Ed's guilt-addicted personality into consideration. Russel sighed a little to himself, he felt that he should have realized that someone like Ed would be unpleasant to be around when jealous.

Edward stopped briefly before leaving the kitchen, but he didn't say another word to Russel. Edward was already feeling bad for snapping, and Russel's commentary didn't help.

---

Alphonse took a moment outside of the kitchen to take in a deep breath and let it out as slowly as he could. Al lifted up the arm that his brother had grasped and looked at the slight pink color of the indentions that were left from Ed's automail fingers. Al was a little worried that Edward was mad at him for taking Russel's "affections" away from him, but in the back of his mind he didn't think that was the case... at least he hoped it wasn't.

Alphonse shook his head at his own thoughts. "I must be tired to think such crazy things," Al mumbled to himself as he approached Fletcher's door, "Niisan's just a little edgy 'cause he doesn't feel good."

Fletcher's bedroom door was opened partways, Al was a little concerned because he remembered shutting the door when he had left last. He figured that it was probably Russel's doing... perhaps Russel had gone to check on him when he had gone to call the delivery service.

Alphonse pushed the door opened and stepped in. It seemed that during the time he had spent in the other room, it must have started getting darker. He could barely make out the mound in the blankets that Fletcher made. "Fletcher," Al spoke softly so he wouldn't startle the boy, "I'm going to turn on the light now." Al flipped the switch, a beige light flooded the room.

All of the blankets were piled up on one side of the bed, so Al walked over and pulled the blankets back. Fletcher wasn't there.

Al whirled around to look at the rest of the room, but Fletcher was nowhere to be found. Al even checked inside the closet, then he remembered that the door had been open when he arrived, maybe Fletcher had gone to the bathroom.

Al walked to the door and looked down the hall. The hall was dim and it gave Al an unsettled feeling. Al walked the length of the hall and peered into the bathroom; No one was inside.

Al tried to think of another place that Fletcher might have gone. Al turned back and jumped when he looked down the hall towards Fletcher's room. Fletcher was standing in the hall, his head was tilted downward like he was looking at the floor or his feet.

"Fletcher, you startled me," Al laughed a little and started walking towards the boy.

Al stopped when Fletcher looked up at him, there was something strange about the way his eyes seemed to stare at him, even though they didn't seem to see anything. The shadows in the hall seem to darken while Al stared at this little boy.

"Fletcher," Al's voice cracked a little and he cleared his throat, "Fletcher, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick...?"

There was no response. Fletcher's eyes just continued to stare.

Al moved to the side, and Fletcher's eyes followed. "Fletcher, you're starting to freak me out."

Fletcher said nothing, but his mouth turned upwards into a slight grin.

Al stepped back and gasped when he felt the wall on his back. Al didn't know just why he felt so scared, but he had a bad feeling in his gut. "Fletcher, cut it out, okay?"

Fletcher took a few steps forward before his head fell and he collapsed onto the floor.

Al hesitated for a second, then walked over and kneeled next to the child. Al touched Fletcher's neck and held his breath until he found Fletcher's pulse. Al pushed Fletcher onto his back, it seemed that Fletcher had passed out cold. Fletcher's face looked as peaceful as ever.

Al heard footsteps approaching, and he looked up.

"Al, what happened?!" Edward stared down at Al and Fletcher, worry written across his face.

---

Russel shook his head and followed after Edward, grabbing the two remaining plates on his way out of the kitchen. "Hey, look," Russel called after him, "I'm sorry, that was below the belt."

Edward looked over his shoulder before turning around fully. Ed shrugged his shoulders, "Don't worry about it."

Russel walked over to the shorter alchemist and smirked as he bent down slightly to be eye-level. "Aw, but you and Al are so cute when you fret about eachother."

Edward was not amused by the way that Russel bent down. Edward growled a little at the accusation of fretting over Al, and turned his head away from Russel to hide his crimson cheeks. "We don't fret over eachother!"

"Of course you do! You can't even look me in the eyes and tell me otherwise," Russel smirked and had to restrain himself from laughing when Edward finally turned back at him.

"You're full of it!" Edward glared and started stomping towards Fletcher's room.

Russel couldn't contain himself and he let out a chuckle. Russel followed Ed closely, "Hey, stop for a second, okay?"

Edward turned and he was still scowling. "What do you want now? The food'll get cold."

Russel leaned down again and kissed Edward on the mouth, then stood back to watch the reaction.

Edward's face went from shock, to embarrassment, to utter outrage in the matter of ten seconds. Edward growled again, "What the hell was that for?"

"It's because I think you're cute." Russel grinned at the gaping boy infront of him.

Edward couldn't decide whether he wanted to yell "fuck off" or try to kiss him back, so he settled with, "Go to Hell," and he turned the corner to go to Fletcher's room. Edward stopped in his tracks when he saw a frantic looking Al leaning over Fletcher.

"Al, what happened?!" Edward nearly yelled, starting to feel some of that panic for himself.

Russel approached behind Edward, and when Ed turned around, he could see that all the color had left Russel's face.


	6. Secrets Revealed

Russel rushed over to take Al's place at Fletcher's side. Russel kneeled down and picked the youngest boy up and cradled Fletcher in his arms. Russel carried Fletcher into his room and laid him down. When Russel left the room, he found Ed and Al waiting with questions.

"What the hell's all this about Fletcher acting like he was possessed?" Ed demanded, "You didn't look all that shocked, so I assume that this has happened before. You may as well tell us now and save us the trouble."

Russel's face lost all color and a few moments passed until Edward cleared his throat to coax Russel to go ahead.

"Okay, you're right. This has happened before." Russel closed the bedroom door quietly and walked passed Ed and Al. "Get your plates. We should go back and eat in the kitchen."

Ed and Al obeyed, glancing at one another as they followed Russel. Ed had a bad feeling about all of this and Al's story didn't settle well in his stomach. Ed was prepared for anything.

Russel sat down at the kitchen table and covered his own face with his hands. Ed and Al took the seats facing him. "I didn't want you to find out this way," Russel began. "I was hoping I could have been the one to tell you--"

"Just tell us what it is that we found out," Edward interupted and poked at his plate of food with his fork.

"I was asking you before, you know, about pointers on how to cure Fletcher's disease. What you don't know is that I've already tried." Russel's voice grew quieter as he continued to speak.

"What? You mean that you've already used alchemy on him?!" Al exclaimed, still feeling shaken from his experience earlier. "That's a big detail that you left out!"

"I know I should have told you sooner. I just wanted you to understand the method I used. I was really interested in a way to make it better."

"What happened? Why did you decide to go on and do it?" Edward asked, taking notice of the way Al's hands trembled. Edward scooted his chair closer to Al's, then waited for a little smile from Al before he turned to face Russel again.

Russel fell silent again. Russel's eyes were fixed on the intricate design on the table cloth. Edward submitted into giving Russel a moment, but the second that moment became five minutes, he was starting to feel more than a little impatient. "Well, go on with the story," Ed said shortly.

"He'd been sick for so long," Russel started again, and his voice was starting to sound distant. Edward and Alphonse exchanged another glance and Russel continued, "I thought I had it down. I thought that I could cure that damn disease and we could be happier. He trusted me. He looked up at me with that look, the same carefree look he always got when he was going to sleep in my bed and he knew that he would wake up next to me. I told him to goto sleep, and in the morning, he would never feel sick again."

Russel paused to get himself a drink of water. Russel was still by the sink when he began again. "He closed his eyes and I started the transmutatuon. About half-way through, he opened his eyes and started gripping at the table and anything else that he could grab. There were tears in his eyes and he was calling my name. It looked like he was being ripped apart. There wasn't a damn thing I could do but watch. The transmutation was too far into progress to stop without killing him..."

Russel looked over at Edward, making sure that there was eye-contact. "You must know what I'm talking about. That pain and terror on the face of the one you care about."

Edward kept his face straight, and he had to grit his teeth together to do so. Of course, Edward had seen that look before. He'd been reliving that day for eight years.

Al knew that Russel must have been referring to him. Al moved his hand over to Edward's and nudged it until Edward's hand opened up. Al slipped his hand under Edward's and felt Edward's hand close over his in a surprisingly soft way. Al could see the tears forming in the edges of Edward's and Russel's eyes. Al didn't know how to feel about the whole thing; he was alright after all.

"When the transmutation was over, Fletcher was out cold. I held him until he woke up," Russel explained as he returned to the table. "When he came to, he didn't remember the transmutation at all, and he didn't feel sick either. Things were great for about a month, but signs of his illness came back. When he got sick, he started getting weird symptoms I'd never seen before. The weirdest one was that he'd go through these phases where he wouldn't be himself. He'd be quiet and a little creapy. I still don't know why that happens, and it scares me like hell. Sometimes, I find him talking to himself, not the regular kind of talking to himself either. He has arguements with himself. Sometimes there's yelling and crying, and I don't know what to do. I just want the old Fletcher back, no matter how sick he is."

Edward felt himself ease a little as Russel finished his story. Ed had been fearing worse. Edward nodded his head and leaned back in the chair. "Well, is that the whole story? You didn't leave anything out this time, right?"

"Yes, it's the whole story. Will you still help me out?" Russel looked from Edward to Al.

Edward shrugged his shoulders and picked up a fork full of mashed potatoes, "Give us a minute to talk about it, and we'll get back to you." Edward proceeded to eat.

Russel sighed and stood up and walked to the other room, leaving the other set of brothers to determine his fate.

Edward looked at his brother and frowned a little bit. Edward already had his mind made up on what he wanted to do, but he didn't want to dedicate himself to this kind of project without talking it over with Al first. "What do you think?"

Al looked up from his plate and shrugged his shoulders. "I trust your judgement, Niisan. I'll stay if you do, and I'll follow you if you go."

Ed shook his head and smirked. "There you go with your ambiguous attitude again, don't you remember what happened last time?" Edward countered.

"Yes, I remember..." Al pouted and looked back down at his untouched food.

"I can tell you feel something, tell me. I want to know your opinion and I'll give you mine. I already know what I want, but I want to know how you feel about it before I tell you this time." Edward folded his arms over his chest, still holding his fork in one hand.

Al's face flushed a little and he nodded his head. "I guess, it's only fair, isn't it? Well, I'm worried about what the consequences would be," Al started and Edward nodded his head. "I just don't think that I could turn my back on them, though. I know it's stupid of me, but I want to help. I want to cure Fletcher."

"And you're sure that you're ready to pay the price, no matter what it is?" Edward's face remained blank and he started to eat his food again.

Al nodded his head solomnly, "Yes."

Edward grinned a little and he reached over to pat Al on the back affectionately. "Good, 'cause I was thinking the same thing."

Al's face lit up at his brother's words and he grinned back at him.

"Now, eat your dinner. We can tell Russel when we're done eating," Edward ordered and continued on his own meal.

---

Russel was sitting on the couch with his head resting on the palms of his hands when Edward and Alphonse finally joined him. Russel looked up slowly to see the Elrics standing in front of him.

Edward's face was cold and nonchalant. "We've made our decision," He spoke calmly, "And I hope that you'll understand."

Russel felt his heart sink at Edward's tone and words. Russel looked over at Al to confirm the answer he expected, but Al was looking away to keep from making eye-contact.

"We talked it over, and we both feel the same way," Edward added when he say Russel's attention shift. "I'm sorry, you have no choice but to accept what we've decided. I only apologize since you asked for our help," Edward paused.

Russel nodded his head and looked down at the floor, "Alright. I understand."

Edward grinned to himself as he continued, "It means that you've got no choice than to let us take over your research while you sit back and babysit your little brother while you watch the experts."

It took a moment for the words to register in Russel's mind, and when they did, he was ecstatic. "You mean, you're going to keep helping me? Even after I lied, and even if it means Human Alchemy?"

"Of course. I just told you that we're as close to experts as you're going to find." Edward tensed a little when the taller boy's arms wrapped around him in a tight squeaze. Edward could smell the mild scent of soap on Russel's collar as his face was pressed up against it.

"You don't know how much this means to me, and to Fletcher," Russel continued to squeaze the pint-sized Alchemist.

"Don't forget Al," Edward mumbled against Russel in attempts to get free.

Russel grabbed Al and pulled him into the hug too, entrapping Edward between them. Al was more willing to join in the hug than his older brother and he smiled in amusement at the way Edward growled.

"You don't need to thank us until we're done. It could take some time, so you're going to need to be patient. All you need to worry about right now is taking care of yourself and Fletcher," Al explained. "Maybe you should go heat up that soup and take it to him now while we try and organize all these notes better."

Russel was quick to obey for once, and he was grinning wider than Al and Ed remembered ever seeing.

Edward sighed and grumbled as he flattened out the wrinkles in his coat and hair. "He didn't have to get so emotional about it," Edward mumbled, but he was smiling a little. Edward looked up to Al briefly, then he walked over to the stack of books. "You don't have to help tonight if you don't feel up to it."

Al shook his head and followed his brother, "I'll manage. I can't let you get too far ahead of me, or we'll waste time with you having to teach me everything you've discovered."


	7. Exposed Experiments

Al had tried to read one of Russel's books on his own, but he was having a less than productive time doing so. After about ten pages, Al gave up and looked on with Edward. The Elrics discussed their opinions out loud and Edward took down notes of what was said. It seemed to be working well enough for both of them.

Al and Ed were deep into reveiwing Russel's material until after 2 am when Al decided it was about time to mention how sleepy he was feeling. "Niisan, we should get some sleep soon and read more after we get up in the morning."

Ed couldn't argue, he was starting to feel tired himself and their pace had been gradually declining for about thirty minutes. Ed placed the silk ribbon at the seam of the book to mark their page, then nodded sleepily in response. Ed was the first to notice the sleeping body curled up on the couch with one arm undernearth his head. "You think we should wake him up?"

Al was the first to stand up, grunting to himself as he stretched out his tired muscles. "I'll get him up, Niisan." Al walked over to the couch and he nudged the sleeping boy. "Russel, we're finished up for tonight... we should get a place to sleep set up in here and you should get to bed..."

Blue eyes opened slowly and Russel looked up at Al. Russel sighed sleepily and moved a little bit for a more comfortable position. "Just use my room tonight... I'm--" Russel yawned loudly and turned back onto his side, "I'm comfortable on the couch."

"Are you sure? Your bed's probably more comfortable than the couch..." Al protested, not wanting to impose on their host.

"You heard him, Aru, he said he was comfortable. Let's just take his offer." Ed finally stood up, putting one hand on his lower back. When Ed stood up straight, he winced and forced himself to lean back to stretch. "Shouldn't have sat on the floor so long," the eldest alchemist grumbled to himself more than anyone else.

"Listen to your brother, Al..." Russel already had his eyes closed. "There's not enough room for you both to sleep on the couch... you'll just keep yourselves awake for another hour arguing over who gets to sleep on the floor..."

Ed snorted a little, but he knew that it was true. Both Elrics had a problem with sacrificing themselves for the other. "See, we're having it my way. I'll go transmute the sheets clean." Edward staggered a little as he walked towards Russel's room, more because his back was giving him trouble than being sleepy.

Al sighed loudly and shrugged, "Alright, I know when I'm beaten. Goodnight Russel, you want the lights off?" Al waited for an answer, but he didn't get one. Al decided to shut the lights off anyway, then he followed his brother through the dark living room and hallway.

When Al finally made it to the bedroom, he found that Edward had turned the light on and he was getting ready for bed. Ed already had his white boxer shorts on for bed. All of the clothes that Edward had been wearing were piled up in a discarded heap against the wall. Ed stretched himself out a little more, then he tested the sturdiness of the bed before laying down. 

After watching his brother, Al entered the room and closed the door behind him. Al took his jacket off, then he kicked off his boots. It took a moment for Al to realize that he was being watched, then he turned to his vouyer with a blush on his face. "Niisan..." Al complained a little, pouting.

"What?" Edward grinned a little, propping his head up on a pillow with both his hands behind his head. "It's nothing I've never seen before, so you don't have to be so modest about everything."

Al blushed more and pouted, then turned around. "I know, Niisan, but it's still embarrassing to be watched." Al took off his shirt carefully, but he could still feel the painful pressure against his sensitive hands. Al sighed a little and decided to sleep in his pants, so he walked to the bed to climb under the covers.

"Aru, you going to sleep in those?" Edward sat up a little more, tilting his head a little towards Al's pants. They were leather pants, just like the ones Ed wore, so he knew that they were not very comfortable to sleep in at all.

"Yeah, I'm just going to sleep like this tonight." Al didn't want to admit that it was because his fingers stung too much to work with the button on his pants.

Ed caught on and he scooted over to the edge of the bed. "I see, come here," Ed ordered and he reached over to undo the button and zipper of Al's pants for him. When Ed tried to pull the pants down himself, he was stopped.

"I can get it myself, Niisan," Al blurted out as he moved back sharply. Al's face was still quite red and he was feeling embarrassed at having Edward take his pants off for him. Al finished pulling the pants down, then he pulled on his pair of blue boxer shorts that Ed had already taken out for him.

Ed laid back down and waited for Al to climb into bed with him before he turned off the lamp on the bedsized table. Ed was quick to sprawl out and claim enough of the bed to lay comfortably.

Al cozied up near Edward and he sighed a little to himself. It was the first night that he had actually shared the same bed with Edward since they had been reuinited. Al felt a little awkward laying this close, but it was because he was worried that something would happen between them.

Al didn't know really how much Ed had truly meant on those rare nights that they used to talk when he was still in his armor and they made promises to hold eachother and kiss eachother when Al was restored. Conversations like that always started when Al would mention how handsome Ed was getting, and how he wished that he could hold him. They would spend hours talking about what kind of things they wanted to do when Al was restored, both in private and in public. Sometimes their conversations got to the point where they would talk about fantasies they'd had about eachother.

Al was a little afraid to ask, so he made it a point to get seperate beds at hotels. Al didn't want to find out if Edward didn't really feel the way that Ed had sounded like he felt on those nights. Al felt that he would be happier to just pretend that Ed meant what he had said than risk making Edward feel uncomfortable around him.

Edward waited until Al quit moving around so much before he worked his automail arm underneath Al's pillow and rolled onto his side, putting his flesh arm around Al and held him close. Ed noticed how hesitant Al was to move his own arms around Edward. Ed lifted himself up a little so that Al could get one arm under the side of his waist.

"What's wrong, Aru? I told you not to be shy..." Ed murmured against Al's hair, breathing in the scent of his little brother.

Al could feel his cheeks heating up again, so he hugged Ed a little tighter than before. "Sorry, Niisan. I'm just not used to this."

Edward moved back a little. "You want me to stop? If I'm getting too close, just say it, okay?" Ed's voice sounded concerned. Ed was worried that he might be progressing too fast... but after seeing Russel kiss Al's cheek earlier that evening, who could blame him?

Al shook his head and hugged Edward closer again, "No, Niisan. I like it... so you don't have to stop, okay?" Al nuzzled his face against Edward's shoulder blade a little. "I just... don't know what I can and can't do," Al admitted quietly against the side of Edward's neck.

Edward snorted again, then chuckled. "I get it, so you i are /i being shy. Don't worry about it, Aru. There's nothing that you can't do, so don't worry about it." Edward was a little relieved, he was worried that he was pushing his brother a little fast, and that wasn't his goal.

Al sighed happily and felt a little more comfortable to snuggle against his brother. Al was quite pleased to find out that no matter how close he got with his cuddling, Edward didn't push him away at all. To Al, laying next to Edward like this felt right, like that was how it was supposed to be between the two of them.

Al savored the warmth of Edward and he put his head against Edward's chest so he could hear his brother's breathing and heart beat. Al couldn't help but want to scoot closer whenever he got too used to Ed's warmth. After a few minutes, Al heard the sound of Ed chuckling. Al looked up to see his brother's head raised a little to watch him. Al's eyes were still adjusting to the darkness in the room, so he couldn't make out his brother's expression.

"Aru? Can't get to sleep?" It was Edward's turn to move around. Ed rolled onto his back and pulled Al against him once more. Ed idly ran his fingers through Al's hair and he sighed quietly.

At first, Al had been a little worried at his brother's tone, but all of that changed when he was pulled closer. Al smiled and curled one leg over Ed's and he relocated his head ontop of Edward's shoulder, he was trying to ignore the hardness of the metal and the slight fear of being pinched. There was plenty of room for Al to move away so that they could both sleep more comfortably, but neither brother seemed to notice or care.

In one of Al's attempts at snuggling closer, he moved his knee up just a little bit too far. Al didn't know if it was Edward's gasp or the new pressure that he had on his knee that startled him more. Al pulled his leg off of Edward and began to apologize frantically.

Ed had to turn back onto his side and grab Al's shoulder to hush his brother. "Aru, sh... You're going to wake up the whole house!" Ed put two fingers over Al's lips and waited for Al to calm down before continuing, "I said that you could do anything, didn't I? So, don't worry about it." Ed sighed and frowned a little. Ed only realized what he had said after he had said it. "Look, sorry. It was an accident, so let's just go to bed." Feeling like he'd just scared Al, Edward removed his fingers from Al's lips and rolled over onto his other side reluctantly.

Al tried to register what Ed had said to him, but he didn't do it fast enough to keep Ed from turning around. Did that mean his brother had been serious all those times that they shared their fantasies with one another? Al had secretly felt that Ed had always been just humoring him.

Al scooted closer to Edward again and forced his arms around his brother's torso. Al closed the space between them with one squeeze. Al knew that his brother would probably rather be in his position right now, but that didn't matter. Al put his chin on Ed's shoulder and he kissed his brother's neck lightly.

"Aru?" Edward whispered somewhat hesitantly before he tilted his head back to be a little closer. Edward's mind swam a little in the warm sensation moving through his body with every little kiss Al placed on him. Ed closed his eyes and sighed to himself in quiet content.

"Niisan," Al echoed into Edward's ear. Al knew that his brother was warm and he had purposely turned his attention to Edward's ear just before. Al could feel the slight shudder against him and he grinned a little bit despite himself. Edward had become putty in his hands. Al knew that he was the one doing the seducing, but it was hard for him not to, because Ed was so seductive just by laying there.

As soon as Ed felt Al's hold loosen around him, he turned around and seized his brother's lips hungrily. There was panting and gasping that neither boy could identify as their own. Flesh and metal danced over eachother in a few seconds as their built up passions and frustration were released upon eachother. Neither of them felt any restrain and it wasn't long at all before they were moaning and pressing themselves to one another.

All of this came to a sudden stop; however, as light flooded into the bedroom and they heard the annoyed sound of Russell's voice. "Geez, if you're going to do that, at least have the courtesy of doing it in the bathtub or something; And keep it down, you woke Fletcher up.

All the lusty pink flush in the Elrics' faces faded as they both blanched and stared at their new company. Their grips on one another were vice as they waited silently and watched as Russell rumaged through a cabinet and left the brothers. Russell had the decency to switch off the lights and shut the door as he left though.

After another long moment of silence, Al decided to speak up. "Well, what now?"

Ed shrugged his shoulders and let out the breath he'd been holding as a frustrated sigh. "Let's just go to bed before we get hard again. We can always do it in the shower when we get up."

Al could hear the grin in Edward's voice. Al gave a loud mock sigh and said, "Alright." Al relaxed once more in Edward's arms and smiled to himself. Al nuzzled Edward a little as Edward's arms hugged him once more.

Fletcher pouted up as Russell came back into the living room. "Did you find out what was making all of that noise, Niisan?"

Russell nodded and walked back over to the feverish boy. Russell sighed loudly, "Don't worry about it. It was just Ed and Al sparring on my bed. Just go back to sleep. You need your rest."

"Niisan, since Ed adn Al are using your room, you can sleep in my bed," Fletcher offered. Fletcher had seen the way that Russell rubbed the back of his neck and he figured that it was because of sleeping on the couch.

"No, you go ahead and go back to your room. I'm fine on the couch." Russell was already making himself comfortable when he felt a small hand tug on his own.

"Come on, Niisan, I want you to. It's lonely in there anyway..." Fletcher pouted a little.

Russell's initial reaction was to refuse Fletcher's offer and fuss at him to go to bed, but then he thought about the Elrics and how they acted towards eachother earlier that evening. Russell though about how they felt so comfortable just hugging and leaning on eachother. Then, he remembered what he just interrupted and he let out a frustrated sigh.

"Okay, I'll do it." Russell stood up and let Fletcher drag him into his room. Russell figured it would be okay, at least for one night. Besides, neither of them would start anything, especially not until Fletcher was cured.


End file.
